As the Premier League season reaches its climax on Sunday there are still many issues to be sorted out. In fact the only things guaranteed are that Derby are relegated and that Liverpool and arsenal have the 3rd and 4th Champions League spots. Apart from that everything else is still to be sorted.

The league title could be on its way to either Chelsea or Man Utd, with Utd favourites because of their far superior goal difference. This season is only the 4th time in Premiership history that the title is still to be sorted out on the final day. It is also the first time in 40 years that two teams have been on level points going into the last game. According to my predictions earlier, Utd should win the league by beating Wigan at the JJB. However, any slip ups will pretty much hand the title to Chelsea who are extremely unlikely not to beat Bolton.

The final European spot is also up for grabs as is the Intertoto spot. Everton only need a point against Newcastle to secure the UEFA cup next season. The Intertoto cup, on the other hand, is still up for grabs with Aston Villa, Blackburn and Portsmouth all able to claim it. Villa will start as clear favourites because they only need to win against West Ham to secure the place. If they were to draw, Blackburn would need to beat Birmingham to climb above them into 6th. Pompey can only get there if Villa lose and they beat Fulham.

The closest battle is to stay up. Only 1 point seperates Fulham, Reading and Birmingham. Fulham have the advantage because of their superior goal difference and they only need a win to secure survival. They should also be boosted by the fact that Pompey will be focused on their F.A. Cup preparations. Things aren't as simple for Reading who could go down even if they do win. They would need Fulham drop points. Birmingham have the hardest task, even though they are at home. They will be up against a Blackburn side who will need a win to have any chance of Europe. Even if they do win, they would require both Fulham and Birmingham to drop points.

With all the different permutations an exciting final day is guaranteed.

According to my predictions it will end up like this:
Champions: Man Utd
Uefa Cup: Everton
Intertoto Cup: Blackburn
Relegated: Birmingham and Reading

Final Day Predictions

Birmingham Vs Blackburn
A tough one to call as both teams need a win. Birmingham to stay up and Blackburn to have a chance of the Intertoto cup.
Final Score 1-2.

Chelsea Vs Bolton
Unfortunately I just can't see Bolton getting anything out of this, especially as they are now safe.
Final Score 2-0.

Derby Vs Reading
Derby won't want to lose their last game and Reading can't score for love nor money. A bore draw.
Final Score 0-0.

Everton Vs Newcastle
Both teams will want to finish on a high and I fell they will cancel each other out.
Final Score 1-1.

Middlesborough Vs Man City
As there is so much much turmoil at City right now I really can't see them winning. Boro on the other hand appear to be on the up.
Final Score 2-1.

Portsmouth Vs Fulham
This one all depends on how much Pompey will be thinking about the cup final. I can see Fulham just about sneaking it .
Final Score 0-1.

Sunderland Vs Arsenal
Sunderland will want to end their season well but I think Arsenal will overpower them in the end.
Final Score 1-4.

Tottenham Vs Liverpool
An end of season game with neither club having anything to play for? Has to be a draw, hopefully with a few goals.
Final Score 2-2.

West Ham Vs Aston Villa
If Villa can concentrate amid the Barry speculation then they should win it. I don't know if they'll be able to do that though, so I'll go for a draw.
Final Score 1-1.

Wigan Vs Manchester United
They surely can't let the title slip from their grasp now, can they? I hope and think not. Utd to win.
Final Score 1-3.

Now compare me to Lawro and his predictions.

Rijkaard Off

Barcelona manager Frank Rikjarrd will leave his position at the end of the season, with former Barca captain Josep Guardiola replacing him. This comes after two trophyless seasons at the Nov Camp. In addition, the Spanish giants will have to qualify for next years Champions League after their 4-1 hammering against fierce rivals Real Madrid, leaves them unable to finish above 3rd place. (Real had already been crowned champions after winning against Osasuna on Sunday.)

The Dutchman was appointed in 2003 and went on the La Liga in 2005. In 2006, his Barca team claimed the league and Champions League double after his team beat Arsenal in the final.

In other news it looks as though Arsene Wenger will not be able to stop the mass exodus from Arsenal. After it was confirmed that Mathieu Flamini, it looks like other midfield star Alexander Hleb will join him. The news will come as a real blow to Wenger who claimed his main priority of the summer was to keep his young squad together. It looks like he may have failed to this and who knows will the Gonners will finish up next season.

Also, it appears that Rafa Benitez has put a £15m price tag on Peter Crouch. This seems a little silly considering he will only bid £10m for Gareth Barry. Both are about the same age but surely Barry is a lot more influential. I think Benitez is starting to lose it if he feels Crouch is worth more than Barry, but then I suppose the power goes to your head when working for one of the big four.

Erikkson to Benfica?

It didn't Sven to long get a new job, did it? After last week being told he will be sacked at the end of the season, the former England manager looks like he is going to Benfica after reports suggest he has opened talks with the club. The saga around Man City is getting absolutely ridiculous and I'm not entirely sure what is going on. The fans want him to stay, he wants to stay but it looks like he is definitely going to be leaving. It is an absolute farce but what do expect from such a crazy owner? Big Phil Scolari looks likely to replace him and again I think it is the wrong solution (if he wants to go there of course). Will he be the right man? Only time will tell but I think not.

The other big news of the day is that Sunderland manager Roy Keane has started his summer clear-out as he releases four players. Striker Andy Cole and defenders Stephen Wright, Ian Harte and Stan Varga are the unlucky quartet. Other players could feel quite lucky they haven't joined them after Keane's furious out burst after Saturdays 2-0 loss to Bolton.

Harry Redknapp has claimed that if Portsmouth win the F.A. Cup later this month it will be his proudest moment as a manger. I would have to disagree with him however- surely his greatest managerial triumph was keeping Pompey in the Premier League when he returned as their manager after his ill-fated spell at arch rivals Southampton. At the time the team were bereft of confidence and looked like certainties to go down, having only won 1 game when he was re-appointed. from there they staged a miraculous recovery winning 4 of their last 5 games to remain in the league- they lost their final game against Liverpool who went to win the champions League that season.

Will winning the Cup be as much of an achievement as that season. Not really when you look at the teams they have had to play:

Round 3: Ipswich (1-0)

Round 4: Plymouth (2-1)

Round 5: Preston (1-0)

Q/F: Man United (1-0)

S/F: West Brom (1-0)

Final: Cardiff

Thus, they pretty much scraped through against teams in the Championship by the odd goal. The only impressive result was the win against Utd in a game in which they were absolutely dominated from start to finish and got their only goal through a soft(ish) penalty decision. What is there to be proud off? If they had been knocked out by any of the other clubs it would have been seen as a major shock. It is for these reasons why I cannot agree with Redknapp when he says leading Pompey out in the final should be proudest achievement. In my opinion he has done far greater things in his impressive career.

Scolari offered City job

Reports are emerging that the Brazilian former world cup winning manager, "Big" Phil Scolari has been offered Sven's position at City. According to the stories the man who knocked Erikkson out of three international competitions will be offered an annual salary of £3.2 million, £700,000 more than Sven is being paid at the moment. The news comes after it emerged last week that City would sack their boss at the end of the season after a disappointing finish following a good start. Is Big Phil the right man for the City job or should Sven be allowed to keep his job. I'd suggest the latter as I feel he has done a good job under the circumstances and the majority of his signings have worked out. Yet this once again shows the unpredictability of football with now over half the premier league managers being sacked in one season. Is it too much, should chairmen be more patient: I'd like to think so. Below is the goal that knocked England out of the 2002 World Cup- Scolari's only win against Erikkson which wasn't by penalty shoot out.

Stoke to stay up?

There were scenes of absolute euphoria at the Britannia Stadium on sunday when Stoke claimed promotion back into the top flight for the first time since 1985 (before I was even born). How long will this euphoria last however. They are already the bookmakers favourites to go down and it appears likely they will have to change their team around if they are to survive next season. Will the open bus parade prove to be a celebration too far for the Potters or will they hang on to their Premier League status for more than one season. Their chairman, Peter Coates, is confident claiming it is harder to get promoted than to stay up. Well, if that were case why doesn't every promoted team stay up? I personally think they will get relegated next season, not because I don't like them, just because of the realities of football and I'm not the only one. In do however expect, and hope, they will make a real fist of it, unlike Derby this season- 11 points is just embarassing.

Chelsea Keep Title Hopes Alive

The destiny of the F.A Premier League title is still unknown after Chelsea beat Newcastle at St. James Park earlier on. Goals from Michael Ballack and Florent Malouda were enough to secure a 2-0 win for the London club. The result means that the race for the title will go right down to the wire as Chelsea and Man United are still on equal points. Utd are on top due to a far superior goal difference over their rivals (56 to 39). The reigning champions visit Wigan on the final day of the season next Sunday whilst Chelsea host Bolton.

The other major story of the day is the news that Mathieu Flamini will join A.C Milan when his contract runs out at the end of the season. The news is a major blow for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger who was anxious to keep hold of his midfield star. His job will now be to make such there isn't a mass exodus from the Emirates after Flamini's departure.

League One and Two Ups and Downs

League One

Champions: Swansea City

Promoted: Nottingham Forest

Play-offs: Doncaster, Carlise, Leeds, Southend

Relegated: Bournemoth, Gillingham, Port Vale, Luton

League Two

Champions: M.K Dons

Promoted: Peterborough, Hereford

Play-offs: Stockport, Rochdale, Darlington, Wycombe

Relegated: Mansfield, Wrexham

Football Round Up

The big news of the week is Sven's likely sacking from City at the end of the season. Does he deserve to go, probably not but this is always the danger when dodgy people take over football clubs. Look at the state of Liverpool for example. In some instances a foreign owner can work but only if they stay out of the football side e.g. the Glaziers at Utd and Lerner at Villa.

Some people are saying that Sven is a victim of his own success because of the brilliant start to the season. Yet anyone who knows anything about football knew they wouldn't have stayed up there and his brief at the start of the season was to finish top 10. He has done this but still faces the boot. Has anyone told Mr Shinawatra that patience can be a virtue. Who would be a football manager- that is now 11 who have been sacked from the Premiership this term.

In other news, Cristiano Ronaldo has won two awards this week, having been named P.F.A. player of the year on Sunday and the F.W.A award last night. This follows an incredible season for the youngster who has scored 38 goals this season and led Utd to the top of the league and into the Champions League final.

It appears that Everton's most important player, Mikel Arteta, is out for the rest of the season after battling stomach and groin injuries. This could seriously hamper the clubs European hopes this season. Their rivals for the final UEFA spot, Aston Villa, look set to lose their captain Gareth Barry after it has been revealed that Liverpool have now made an official offer for him.

The craziest gossip of the day is that Utd after West Ham striker Dean Ashton. Although he's a good player he is not a Champions League player and therefore is not good enough for Utd. We already have one injury prone striker-we don't need another one. For other gossip click here.

After a dramatic week in Europe we now know both the Champions League and UEFA Cup Finalists and there will be three British clubs going for glory. In the Champions League, there will be an all English final for the first time with Manchester United playing Chelsea while Rangers will be in their first European final since 1972. Their opponents will be Zenit St Petersburg, who surprisingly beat Bayern Munich 4-0 last night.

Utd's win against Barcelona on Tuesday was a fantastic occasion and the game lived up to the atmosphere with the drama lasting straight to the final whistle. The 6 minutes of stoppage time just added to the excitement. Although the Reds were hanging on a little towards the end they probably just about deserved the win. Perhaps if Barca didn't play so much like Arsenal and try to pass the ball into the net, they may have actually scored a goal. For all their possession, it was still Utd who had the most clear cut chances with Nani, Tevez and Park all going agonisingly close. The Spanish club on the other hand had a few pot shots with Messi and Deco going close. Having said that the English sides defence was absolutely immense with all four playing with great distinction. For me, Patrice Evra was man of the match, playing really well in defense and going forward brilliantly whenever he had the opportunity. To get carried off at the end was not the way his night deserved to end. The only goal that was scored deserves to win any game and proves why Fergie still rates Paul Scholes so highly....

The second semi-final was just as dramatic with three goals in extra time. Ironically Chelsea's two best players, Drogba and Lampard, were so called 'Mourinho' players yet they could never produce it for the 'Special One' when it really mattered. Surely this finally proves that he wasn't such a great manager because the much criticised Avram Grant has done something Jose never could. Does this make Grant a better manager than Mourinho or has he just had more luck? It is hard to say but the facts are that Grant has taken Chelsea to the European Cup Final for the first time. Surely he deserves a second season and reports are suggesting that he is confident of getting one.

Whereas most people could have predicted Chelsea playing against United in the Champions League final, I doubt few would have guessed that Rangers would be playing Zenit in the UEFA cup final (if anyone actually cared after the English teams got knocked out). The Glasgow club are having a terrific season and are still up for a possible quadruple after last nights penalty win against Fiorentina. They will fancy their chances in Manchester later this month against their Russian opponents and former manager Dick Advocaat, although any team that beats Bayern 4-0 cannot be discounted. It is also nice to see a British club win a penalty shoot-out against an Italian team for once.